The Revolt and The Revolting

This Blog is created to stress the importance of Peace as an environmental directive. “I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.” – Harry Truman
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Monday, March 19, 2018

Putin may not have a mandate to war or otherwise. The record number of voters, including many voting for the first time, may have been impressed into service.Vladimir Putin needs to be held responsible for the deaths in Great Britain of Expats. The Hague is the place for the human rights crimes. The Russia people are scared of him and dare not stay home on election day.March 18, 2018By Natalya Vasilyeva and Angela CharitoMoscow — Russia’s presidential election (click here) was tainted Sunday by unprecedented pressure on voters to turn out and incidents of suspected ballot box stuffing — a barely democratic exercise that will grant Vladimir Putin another six years of power.

His opponents have called the election a farce, but his millions of fans hail the 65-year-old former KGB officer for restoring Russian greatness and defending their proud nation from a hostile outside world.

Putin is facing seven challengers on the ballot but the outcome of the vote is pre-ordained, given his high popularity ratings. The major goal for Russian authorities is producing a big turnout that will hand Putin the legitimacy he craves and provide a convincing mandate for his fourth term. Sunday’s election is expected to further embolden the Russian president both at home and in world affairs.

Casting his ballot in Moscow, Putin seemed confident of victory, saying he would consider any percentage of votes a success....The mysterious deaths of Russians go beyond the UK. Israel had told Russia they know Mr. Kuntsevich was providing Syria with intelligence to facilitate chemical weapons. It is easy to point a finger at Israel when a Russian weapons expert turns up dead of mysterious methods. The deaths in the UK are easy to find as an act by Russia, but, there are other Russians dying without reason.I think it is Russia cleaning up their involvement in human rights abuses and use of outlawed chemical weapons. Israel had no reason to kill him. They already knew who was involved and notified Russia of his actions. It is my assumption Russia is the murderer, Russia needs to be held responsible for providing chemical weapon technology to Assad.

March 18, 2018

Anatoly Kuntsevich, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Hero of Socialist Labor Lenin Prize winner Doctor of Chemistry Anatoly Kuntsevich, (click here) one of the former heads of Russia's chemical weapons program who was said to be in charge of the Soviet Union's development of nerve agents in the 1970s and 1980s, was reportedly a target of Mossad, Israel's espionage agency.Israel believed Kuntsevich was supplying his chemical weapons know-how to Syria during the 1990s and pressured Russia to cut their relationship. After Russia refused, he died under mysterious circumstances on a flight from Syria to Russia.According to Yedioth Ahronoth's Ronen Bergman, Kuntsevich oversaw the development of Novichok, the powerful nerve agentsuspected to have been used in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K. earlier this month....

No one knows exactly what Former Director Mueller has that needs additional clarification, but, subpoenas of Trump Company records maybe the last clarification needed for conclusions to this inquiry.There are people implicated in wrongdoing. Mr. Mueller needs all the information he can get to solidly know the direction these arrests are going to take. President Trump has provided all the records from the White House requested. There isn't anything else President Trump needs to do at this time. Trump Company is managed by his son, Donald Trump, Jr. The President of the United States of America would be wrong to interfere with an investigation of a company, especially because of the conflict of interest in this case. A President interfering in a federal investigation that has lead to arrests and plea deals has questionable motives and certainly violates any ethical standard of the presidency.I would expect Don, Jr. to receive phone calls from lawyers regarding a subpoena, but, not the President. President Trump is no longer leading the company while serving in office and received the information about subpoenas second hand. Certainly, the subpoenas were served on the President to obtain records from Trump Company.Former Director Mueller may not be able to close this case without records housed with the Trump Company. Why put the Mueller investigation into a posture that would force trails when that might be resolved with information inside the Trump Company. I think Donald Trump needs to scold his personal attorney that started this entire mess about firing the former FBI Director. President Trump's personal attorney outside the White House was wrong to ask him to be involved. The Trump Company needs to cooperate, as the White House has done, and provide whatever documents the investigation requires. Clarification of facts could prevent lengthy trials. Certainly, the President of the USA isn't involved in decisions within his company now that he has taken the oath of office. I find it unfortunate, president Trump has such poor council outside the White House. His private lawyer demanded the investigation to be shut down. That is very poor lawyering. The President has no interest in those subpoena's while in office.March 19, 2018US President Donald Trump (click here) has been warned by fellow Republican against interfering special counsel Robert Mueller's investigations.It came after he attacked Mr Mueller's inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.In tweets at the weekend, Mr Trump reiterated that there had been "no collusion" between his team and Russia and called the probe a "witch hunt".He added that it was dominated by "hardened Democrats".Mr Mueller, a highly regarded former head of the FBI, is a Republican....

New moon1.6 days old2.8 percent lit16 March 2018By Dylan FurnessThe moon (click here) is under constant bombardment by meteorites and asteroids that can leave massive craters on its surface. The Aitken basin, the largest impact crater on the lunar surface, has a diameter equivalent to the distance from London to Athens, Greece. But not all craters are so noticeable — most are relatively insignificant.Thousands of previously unknown craters have been spotted on the moon thanks to an artificial intelligence program designed by researchers at the University of Toronto....

Sunday, March 18, 2018

I don't see problems for Estonia so long as the world is making commitments to good outcomes for smaller countries. It is our responsibility to reach out and protect people from growing dangers of the Climate Crisis.I think the leaders of Estonia are very smart to have strong relationships with Europe, both in trade and governance.Estonia is said to have 70% of the oil shale development. It is moving toward renewable energies and with an alliance with the EU there is no doubt it will reach it's goals. The people have to be front and center for Estonia. In the northeast region of Ida-Viru the oil shale industry pollutes the air, water and soil. It is causing serious health problems with higher rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disorders. That is not acceptable. So while looking for a strong economy selling power on the grid, it needs to reclaim the land in Ida-Viru to return well being to the citizens there.Estonia's ambitions in green energy should impress the world. I am confident with France as a good friend, the Estonians will achieve a better quality of life, especially for the children. Children exposed to impacts of pollution develop lung disease at an early age.There is every reason to be optimistic about Estonians future.In a different light, the USA has yet to be a solid partner with a global community moving toward far lower emissions of GHG. I found the dedication of Governor Brown and Henry Henderson of the NRDC important. I think they can harness the will of mayors across the country to turn the corner on the Climate Crisis. Cities have rights similar to State's Rights. City governance doesn't end with deciding where to put the next traffic light. Elected city officials can find cooperation between each other and set common goals and timelines.There is no reason to believe the federal government is the do all or end all for funding either. President Trump has stated there are significant tax cuts for Americans this year. If local officials explain a project that will ultimately provide safe, green energy at reasonable cost; the electorate will most probably see their tax decrease this year as an investment for their children in a one-time funding of such ventures.I have hope for Estonia and the mayors with vision and commitment. If the young team that went to the Winter Olympics this year is an indication of Estonia's future, it is very ambitious. It appears as though Estonia is rebuilding it's Olympic dreams....At Pyeongchang, Estonia (click here) is represented by 22 athletes from six sports (click here): alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating. Out of the 22 athletes, twelve are making their Olympic debut. The youngest athletes of Team Estonia are 17-year old alpine skier Tormis Laine and ski jumper Kevin Maltsev. The most senior of the team is biathlete Roland Lessing; the 39-year-old is competing in his fifth Olympic Games....

February 21, 2018Henry Henderson is with the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).Citing concerns (click here) about the impacts of the climate crisis on communities across the United States, mayors representing more than 51 million Americans have come out against efforts at the nation's top environmental agency to repeal the Clean Power Plan, an Obama administration rule that aimed to cut carbon emissions from power plants.In a letter addressed to Scott Pruitt, the Trump-appointed EPA administrator, 236 mayors from 47 states wrote, "We strongly oppose the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, which would put our citizens at risk and harm our efforts to address the urgent threat of climate change.""Communities across the country are experiencing the effects of climate change today: sea level rise; hotter, longer, and more frequent heat waves; increased extreme weather; and many other harmful impacts," they noted. "Residents of our communities have experienced harmful impacts of climate change such as dirtier air, increased heat-related illnesses and deaths, damaged and disappearing coastlines, longer droughts and other strains on water quantity and quality, and increasingly frequent and severe storms and wildfires.""No one is insulated from the impacts of climate change—people in cities of all sizes, along with suburban and rural communities are all at risk," they continued. "Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to protect our citizens against the worst impacts of climate change."...

The Global Climate Action Summit, (click here) coming up in September in San Francisco, is the brainchild of California’s 79-year-old outgoing governor Jerry Brown, one of the country’s great crusaders for cutting carbon emissions despite lack of federal interest in solving the climate crisis.

The purpose of the forthcoming 2018 Global Climate Action Summit — scheduled to take place Sept. 12-14 in San Francisco, Calif. — is to showcase the actions that state and local leaders, businesses, investors, scientists, students, non-profits and other so-called “sub-national actors” have taken to reduce their emissions already. Organizers hope to secure bold commitments from them to do even more, thus showing that decarbonization and economic growth go hand-in-hand and galvanizing a global movement for climate action that leaves no one behind.

This new international meeting is the brainchild of California’s 79-year-old outgoing governor Jerry Brown, one of the country’s great crusaders for cutting carbon emissions despite lack of federal interest in solving the climate crisis. According to Brown, subnational actors are a critical part of the climate solution and can help push the world’s leaders to go further, faster. These leaders will join citizens from around the world to showcase examples of major climate action initiatives already taking place without the aid of the federal government. They hope to inspire deeper commitments from each other and from national governments in support of the Paris Agreement....

2018-2-22Tallinn – According to the plan of the Government Office's working group, (click here) Estonia should be ready as soon as possible to sell renewable energy statistics exceeding Estonia's goal to other countries of the European Union."Our objective is to be ready to participate in the renewable energy statistics trade market as soon as possible to benefit as much from it as possible. In order to do so, the Government Office's coordinate working group also offered concrete proposals," Henry Kattago, strategy director of the Government Office, said in a press release after a meeting with the government's economic development committee.The committee decided to take the following steps when preparing for the sale of the statistical units of renewable energy -- a sales expert dealing with renewable energy statistics trade will start work at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. In addition, the ministry will gather a renewable energy statistics trade working group, which will include representatives of both the renewable energy sector and the state.There have been objectives set in the European Union on the size of the share of renewable energy in the consumption of energy. Estonia has already exceeded the EU's goal set for the end of 2020, which is 25 percent of consumption. This allows Estonia to sell those amounts that exceed the renewable energy goal to another country that has yet to exceed the amount...Oh, they are serious. Very serious.

November 24, 2015A 100 turbine (click here) offshore wind farm is being planned off the Estonian coast near Saaremaa, the country’s largest Island. The wind farm will be built by Estonian company, Saare Wind Energy, and reports suggest they have sent their building application to the Ministry of Economic Affairs this week.

The wind farm will be between 10 and 27 km off the coast of Saaremaa and will cover an area of approximately 100 square km. The project is set to cost €1.7 billion and will produce power by the beginning of 2022, according to the company.

Estonia is already a significant producer and user of renewable energy, with 17.3% of electricity coming from renewable sources. 43% of this comes from wind energy alone.

A number of other wind farm projects are currently under construction, and Estonia is set to be the largest producer of wind energy in the Baltics in the coming years.

"Climate change scenarios and the effect of sea-level rise for Estonia," Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 36, Issues 1-2, March 2003, pp. 1-15.By Are Kant, Jaak Jaagus and Raivo Aunap...Climate change scenarios (click here) for the year 2100 indicate a significant increase in air temperature (by 2.3–4.5 °C) and precipitation (by 5–30%) in Estonia. The highest increase is expected to take place during winter and the lowest increase in summer.

Due to a long coastline (3794 km) and extensive low-lying coastal areas, global climate change through sea-level rise will strongly affect the territory of Estonia. A number of valuable natural ecosystems will be in danger. These include both marine and terrestrial systems containing rare plant communities and suitable breeding places for birds. Most sandy beaches high in recreational value will disappear. However, isostatic land uplift and the location of coastal settlements at a distance from the present coastline reduce the rate of risk. Seven case study areas characterising all the shore types of Estonia have been selected for sea-level rise vulnerability and adaptation assessment. Results and estimates of vulnerability to 1.0-m sea-level rise by 2100 are presented in this paper. This is the maximum scenario according to which the actually estimated relative sea-level rise would vary from 0.9 m (SW Estonia) to 0.7 m on the north-western coast due to different velocities of land uplift in the studied areas.

The longest coastline section recession (6.4 km) would occur on the western coast of the mainland where extensive areas of reed bed and flooded meadows would relocate landwards or disappear. Possible damages in Tallinn, the capital city, would be the greatest compared to the other study areas....NASA Believes by 2100, the oceans will have risen by 26 inches....In 2018, NASA will launch two new satellite missions (click here) that will be critical to improving future sea level projections: the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission, a partnership with GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) in Germany, will continue measurements of the mass of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets; while the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will make highly accurate observations of the elevation of ice sheets and glaciers.

Statistics Estonia (click here) recalculated the population of counties in 2017 according to the administrative division in place after this year’s local government elections.

After the administrative reform, 79 of the previous 213 municipalities remained. Of these, 28 had no change, but 10 former rural municipalities were divided between two or more municipalities. In the case of counties, there change was smaller. There are still 15 counties in Estonia, but the area and population of the majority of these have changed. The borders did not change for Hiiu, Saare and Viljandi counties. Harju county borders are also the same after the administrative reform, but compared to the beginning of the year, there is one village less in Harju county. After the administrative reform, Lääne county lost the most area.

Population increased the most in Tartu (+3,700), Pärnu (+3,600) and Võru (+2,900) counties and decreased the most in Lääne (-3,600), Ida-Viru (-3,500) and Põlva (-2,400) counties. The largest population share was lost by Lääne county (17%), followed by Põlva county (9%). In the new borders, the population increase was largest in Võru county (8%).

There is a report in 2018 regarding an increase in migration.January 17, 2018...In total, (click here) the population of Estonia increased by 0.2% in 2017. Net migration has been positive in Estonia for three years in a row.Over 13,520 children were born in Estonia in 2017 – a decrease of nearly 400 babies compared with a year ago. Considering that the number of women in childbearing age is decreasing, it shows that the number of births per woman has not decreased considerably.The share of older people increases in the population as life expectancy continues to increase, Statistics Estonia said.10,470 people immigrated to Estonia and 5,440 emigrated from Estonia in 2017, the preliminary data shows.

...The important sectors of the Estonian economy (click here) are the processing industry (approximately 14.5% of the overall production), transport, warehousing and communications (10%), commerce (13.5%) and estate, rental and letting, as well as business services (21%). Agriculture and forestry amount to 2.2% of the overall production, construction approximately 7% and government, education and health care to more than 17%. The percentage of governmental administration, education and health care grew during the economically difficult years, because these sectors had to keep on working despite the crisis.Due to Estonia's smallness it is impossible to locally produce all the products and services needed by thelocal people and enterprises. But in order to be able to import them, something must be exported. That is why export holds such a prominent position for the Estonian economy and its growth. The volume of export of goods and services amounts to 73% of the Estonian GDP, export of services constitutes about one third thereof. The main services the export of which brings profit to Estonian enterprises are various services related to transport and Russian transit but also procceeds from tourism. More than two thirds of the Estonian industrial production is for export.Expanding into new markets will always bring about enhanced GDP. Many of the Post Soviet states recognize the markets of Europe and want a relationship wtih them. There is nothing to lose by expanding markets and everything to gain....Joining the European Union (click here) was good for Estonian agriculture, because from then on it was possible to sell food products to other European countries, as there were no longer any customs or importation restrictions, and the Russian market opened up again, too. Estonian farmers began receiving various grants that are still significantly smaller than in western Europe, although manufacturing costs have risen to almost the same level. Recent years have seen Estonian agricultural enterprises getting bigger. Modern technologies are being used more and more; there’s almost nothing left of the old manufacturing sector.Milk cattle, also pigs and poultry are the main farm animals raised in Estonia. Field crops include cereal crops, potatoes and vegetables. Plant products are mostly for internal use, a considerable amount of meat is imported. Some dairy products and some specific products – e.g. cultivated and wild berries, mushrooms, ecologically pure produce etc -are for export. The figures of productivity of the Estonian agriculture are surpassed by those of many climatically better situated countries, but the local produce contain considerably less chemicals and organic farming is gaining popularity....

...The production and export of wooden construction details, wooden furniture and wooden houses has been going up consistently. The main export destinations are Finland, Sweden, Germany, Norway and Great Britain. Timber companies are located all over Estonia, a number of them in small towns or even in villages....

With the exception of Cyprus and Malta (click here) all Member States have individual targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The EU15 agreed (Council Decision 2002/358/EC) to a collective 8 % reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2008-12. This agreement sets the contribution of each individual EU15 Member State towards reaching the common EU Kyoto target. Eastern European Member States have individual targets under the KP, with reduction requirements ranging from 6 % to 8 %.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2016-2017 ranks Estonia 30th among 138 countries. The survey among business leaders measures economic competitiveness based on a combination of technology, the quality of public institutions, and the macroeconomic environment.

According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2017, published by the International Institute for Management Development, Estonia ranks 30th among 63 countries and regional economies covered by the WCY.

Transparency International ranked Estonia 22nd out of 176 countries in 2016. Among members of the European Union, Estonia places 11th.

The World Bank ranks Estonia 12th in its Doing Business in 2017 report, which covers 190 countries.

The Bertelsmann Transformation Index in 2016 ranks Estonia among the most successful of 129 transformation countries in the world. In the status index, Estonia is second after Taiwan and in the management index, Estonia is fourth after Uruguary, Chile and Taiwan.

March 16, 2018By Elisha Bala-GbogboAbuja (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA (click here) may have misled regulators in Nigeria by wrongly attributing oil spills to theft and sabotage in order to avoid paying compensation to affected communities, rights group Amnesty International said.“Amnesty International researchers have identified that at least 89 spills may have been wrongly labeled as theft or sabotage when in fact they were caused by ‘operational’ faults,” the London-based group said in a report released on Thursday. “Of these, 46 are from Shell and 43 are from Eni. If confirmed, this would mean that dozens of affected communities have not received the compensation that they deserve.”Shell and Eni, along with ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and Total SA operate joint ventures with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. that pump most of the crude of Africa’s biggest producer. In the southern Niger River delta, which is home to the country’s oil and gas industry, local communities are frequently in conflict with energy companies over allegations of pollution and environmental degradation....

15 June 2010Visitors to the Nigerian village of Kpor, (click here) deep in the Niger Delta, are greeted by strange sights: silver frogs blink from gleaming puddles, sunlight bounces from an eerie black lake, and dragonflies hover over cauldrons of tar.This is Rivers State, an area abundant in oil and gas. Environmentalists call the Delta the global capital of oil pollution, but unlike the Gulf of Mexico, there are no underwater robots, flotillas of scientists or oil booms here.On 12 May 2009, Shell's Bomo manifold blew up, leaking massive amounts of crude. Local people say 39 hectares were contaminated. A second leak - from a derelict oil tap - had already been continuously spilling oil for years.Shell hired a local company to clean up, but the area remains an oil slick....

The Estonian government (click here) on Thursday endorsed a development plan for adapting to climate change which sets out guidelines and measures for better coping with the effects of changes in climate.

While Estonia has thus far primarily dealt with the consequences of extreme weather, the development plan is aimed at better forecasting dangers arising from climate change and taking them into account, spokespeople for the Ministry of the Environment said.

"Timely adaptation to climate change will significantly reduce financial risks and risks to society," Minister of the Environment Marko Pomerants said. "On the one hand, it is cheaper and more sensible to deal with preventing damage now than eliminating damage later. It is equally wise to viw the phenomena occurring hand in hand with climate change as competitive advantages for the Estonian state."

In order to draw up the development plan, scientists studied the effects of climate change on Estonia, based on which sectoral adaptation measures were laid out both for the short-term through 2030 as well as for the long-term, through 2050 and 2100....

13 March 2018A new study by NUI Galway makes for some concerning reading with microplastics found to be building up on the west coast of Ireland, posing a risk to marine life and fisheries.China (click here)

Scientists have discovered (click here) that microplastic pollution in oceans is much worse than previously feared and the number of tiny pieces of plastic pollution the world's water is a lot higher than initially thought.

The research also revealed that the River Tame, near Manchester, in the UK, has the highest microplastic pollution discovered so far anywhere in the world, with levels even greater than hugely built-up areas such as in South Korea and Hong Kong.

Geographers at The University of Manchester are calling for tighter regulations to prevent plastic entering waterways.

The experts found that the floods in the Manchester area in 2015-16 flushed more than 40 billion pieces of microplastic into the sea....

Buoyed in part by its 98-year-old team chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, the 11th-seeded Loyola Ramblers upset the third-seeded Tennessee 63-62 Saturday night.

During the team’s pregame prayer, Sister Jean told the Ramblers not to be afraid of the third-seeded Volunteers’ height.

“Height doesn’t mean that much,’’ she said. “You’re good jumpers, you’re good rebounders, you’re good at everything.

“Just keep that in mind.’’

In the game between Houston vs. Michigan, a freshman carried the team to victory. Wow.

March 18, 2018

By George Schroder

...Both teams (click here) had missed earlier chances to win it in a foul-plagued affair. In the final 10 seconds, Wolverines guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman drove past Houston’s Rob Gray into the lane, but missed a running bank shot. Davis pulled down the defensive rebound and was fouled, but he missed the free throws. Davis, a senior forward, made three of six attempts in the final 44 seconds.

Gray finished with 23 points to lead all scorers, but both teams struggled against tough defense. Houston shot just 37 percent. But Michigan won despite shooting only 35.6 percent and hitting only 8-of-30 three-pointers.

"Sports is a great metaphor for life sometimes. It's not always fair," Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. "I thought our team deserved to win that game. For 39 minutes, 57 seconds, I thought we were the better team. Credit their kid for hitting a big shot. It was a big, big shot he hit."This was the stadium at that Sweet Sixteen moment.